The Billionaire's Mask (Book #1) - Unedited Version

Chapter 18

BRANDON

A few weeks ago...

"I never thought I'd be setting foot in this place again."

I look up at the clear morning sky for the first time in ten years. The children's park where I used to play are all still here, but a lot has changed.

The slow creeks of the rusty swings and windswept send shivers down my spine. The park is now barely visible as the moss and vines patched the surroundings. All memories of my childhood came flooding back.

This has been a place of joy, peace, and contentment. This is where we played, ran, fought; and the once silver slide had bronzed. Now, this place could serve a set of some horror films.

"Are you really sure about this? There's no turning back now," Oliver asks.

"We are already out of the house, so let's get started."

Oliver smiles.

"See? What did I tell you? You can do things if you just put your mind into it. Look at you now. I should've searched for Alayna a long ago and brought her to you."

"I'm not just doing this for her. I'm doing this for myself," I remind him.

"But Brandon, you can walk around the house, and you managed to come out. I see that you don't have a problem in getting out at all," he stated.

"It's not that I can finally come out, Ollie. I'm still struggling. I don't want the people to see me. I don't want to encounter them. I can't even look at myself in the mirror because all I see is a dead man's reflection. This is my insecurity." I touch the covered part of my face.

"It's not as ugly as you think. The world is even uglier, and yours is just skin."

"I didn't want to see the world that killed my family."

"But you found yourself again," he says. "How else are you going to find justice? This is the answer, and you are finally getting there."

"I know where I can find Annette now," I inform.

"You do? Does Alayna really know where she is?"

"Yes, but I cannot face her if I'm like this. You are right. I need to get better. You know that there's no one I could ask, but you."

"I never turned my back." Oliver steps aside and holds the whistle. "Take off your mask, Brandon. It's a distraction."

Gently, I pull the rubber tie around my ear and take out the mask, letting it fall on the ground. I shudder as the cold wind blows against my bare face. I cover my face with my hand.

"You don't have to hide your face from me," Oliver says kindly.

I tense up and slowly faced the world in front of me.

"Now, can you see that tree over there? That's about a half kilometer. I need you to run there and get back here. Don't stop until you can't run anymore. We need to work on how far you can go when you run. I don't know if this is going to work, but we will still try. Even if it's hard, I don't want to hear 'No' or 'I give up.' Do you understand?"

I nod while holding my breath. As long as people won't touch me, I can do this.

"Are you ready, Brandon?"

"Y-yes..."

"I said, are you ready?!"

"Yes, sir!" I answer as loud as I can.